Enewsletter

Enewsletter • May 3, 2006

Notes from Vegan
Outreach

Note
from Jon Camp

Like previous weeks, last week's
outreach was full of constructive
conversations, prolific distribution
of booklets, and new inroads created
for the animals. With the help of
dedicated volunteers, a total of
3,799 Even If You Like Meat
booklets were individually handed
to students of Eastern Michigan
U, U of Michigan, Michigan State,
U of Toledo, and Notre Dame.

As I see firsthand on a daily basis,
despite being simple, the act of
person-to-person college outreach
is absolutely vital, yielding big
results for the animals. At the
U of MI, a young man came up to
tell me that he read the booklet,
was appalled, and was going to definitely
reduce his meat consumption. At
MI State, a man came up to thank
me for being there, and stated that
he has been vegetarian since receiving
a Vegan Outreach booklet 5 years
ago.

These interactions always drive
home the fact that the animals don't
need our heroics, they simply need
us to be practical and loyal --
choosing activities that will bring
forth tangible results and sticking
with them unwaveringly.

Next week, I will be leafleting
various schools in the Chicago region.
If you would like to leaflet with
me or if you would like for me to
talk to your local or student group,
please email jon
at veganoutreach.org.
Thanks so much!

Overall, Vegan Outreach
has sent out 365,000+ booklets so
far in 2006 -- an annual pace of
more than a million!

Warped Tour is Back!

Gilbert Schwartz of CAA
notes: "Attention all leafleters!
As the school year comes to an end,
I wanted to alert everyone about
the annual, national Warped Tour.
This rock tour brings together thousands
of teenagers and young adults each
year, and makes for an IDEAL leafleting
opportunity. Last year at the tour's
Minneapolis stop, several members
of Compassionate Action for Animals
were able to hand out over 7,000
EI's as the concert was
letting out! I believe Eugene [Khutoryansky]
passed out 10,000 by himself at
one of these once! Dates and locations
are here."

Austin, TX Alert

Vegan Outreach co-founder Matt
Ball will be meeting with interested
individuals in Austin on Thursday,
May 25 at 7pm, at Mr. Natural's
(south). Details here.
There may be another event in Austin
around this time -- check back next
week!

Product of the Week

Laurette Timms writes to nominate:
"Lightlife's
Smart BBQ. It's vegan
and delicious. My non-vegetarian
BBQ-eating friends love it, and
are switching to it because it's
convenient and healthier than meat
BBQ. Just microwave it in it's package
and put some on a roll - there's
plenty for 2. You can buy it at
Wal-Mart Supercenter or Kroger near
the tofu for about $3.

Notes from All
Over

Why Do We Hate Vegans?

[Scroll down here]
Excerpt: "Certainly
vegetarianism has gone mainstream.
In the United States, 19,000 people
make the switch to a meat-free diet
every week and now more than 12
million people are vegetarians.
But veganism? ... One University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee vegan, Cassandra
Flecshig, remembers getting an autograph
from Goldfinger’s lead singer John
Feldmann on a copy of a Why
Vegan? pamphlet. 'After reading
the horrific details of what goes
on in factory farms, I knew I could
never support that kind of misery,'
Flecshig said. ... Veganism excludes
no sentient being -- animal or human
-- from its commitment to compassionate,
gentle benevolence. Vegans show
tender regard for the suffering
of animals, but to treat humans
with callous contempt is a disheartening
contradiction of vegan principles.
So next time you encounter a vegan
do not be shy or defensive. So what
if they prefer tempeh Reubens and
don’t believe pigs have 'spare'
ribs?"

Notes from Our
Members

Today,
Casey Constable, Danielle Seger,
and I (at right; photo
by Casey) handed out approximately
an additional 4,400 Why Vegans
at the last day of the International
Festival. This brought the festival
totals to 11,600 Why Vegans,
and oodles of GCFEs.
One of my favorite exchanges at
the festival was yesterday when
a young vegan woman shouted "I
LOVE YOU!" to me as she took
a Why Vegan and a GCFE.-Eugene Khutoryansky,
Stafford, TX, 4/30/06

After reading Why
Vegan, I became
[a vegan] the next day. Whenever
I felt doubtful, I'd just open it
up and realize again why I was doing
it, because it is so worth it. I
have become largely pro-animal/nature
in my thoughts, language, and opinions
since. Your magazine has really
done a great job in its message,
and has worked for me!-AH, 4/26/06

One of my students
received your Even
If booklet from someone on
campus. I teach nutrition, and most
of my students are clueless as to
where their food comes from. Please
send me more -- I have hundreds
of students each semester, and I
know these will make an impact.-RL, Fairmont City,
PA, 4/23/06

I was delighted on
my birthday to pass an Even
If You Like Meat to a woman
Jon Camp and I leafleted last year
at the University of Vermont. She
said "I actually already have
this; got it last year before lunch
and have been veg ever since."
She gratefully accepted a Why
Vegan pamphlet and a high-five,
however.-Melissa Gates, Burlington,
VT, 4/29/06

I was leafleting
at an anti-war protest, and I met
a young woman who has been vegetarian
since receiving an EI pamphlet
from us at Warped Tour last summer.-Gilbert Schwartz, Minneapolis,
MN, 4/28/06

I was able to use
your Chinese
files as soon as I
saw you had it. There are a lot
of Chinese students here at UNC.-MS, Chapel Hill, NC,
4/26/06

I borrowed your booklet
from a friend and I thought it was
very interesting and moving. I have
to admit I won't give up meat completely
but I will eat it much less!-LC, Ravenna, OH, 4/25/06

Vegan Outreach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the suffering of farmed animals by promoting informed, ethical eating.